'Fast Money' Recap: Getting Defensive in a Volatile World

The trading panel discussed geopolitcal tensions, U.S,. stocks and how to invest.

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- U.S. equities sold off early on Friday, due to rumors over heightening geopolitical tensions. However, investors bought the dip and pushed the S&P 500 back to flat for the session.

On CNBC's "Fast Money" TV show, Tim Seymour, managing partner of Triogem Asset Management, said the selloff isn't surprising given the low trading volume in the equities market. He said investors should try to be as "flat" as possible with their portfolio headed into the weekend, and certainly not short. However, he reasoned that the geopolitical issues seem to be lessening.

Brian Kelly, founder of Brian Kelly Capital, said geopolitical issues are almost "impossible to trade on." There doesn't seem to be lessening of tensions between Russia and Ukraine. Volatility is likely to come back into the market once the Federal Reserve ends quantitative easing. He is a buyer of gold.

Guy Adami, managing director of stockmonster.com, suggested that gold has had trouble rallying, despite all of the geopolitical tension. He continued arguing that the iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT) -- which is up 18% year-to-date -- should continue higher.

Pete Najarian, co-founder of optionmonster.com and trademonster.com, said when the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX.X) falls below $12, it gives investors a chance to buy protection for their portfolios, which allows them to take advantage of dips in the stock market.

Thomas Vitiello, co-founder and principal at Aurum Options Strategies, said a large sell order around 7:50 a.m. pushed gold prices below $1,300 per ounce, where it stayed until geopolitical news pushed it higher later in the day. However, these rallies are mostly short squeezes that have been fueled by geopolitical headlines. The fundamentals for gold prices, such as rising interest rates and banking and currency fears, are non-existent, he concluded.

The traders were asked for their "defensive" plays:

Seymour is a buyer of Altria (MO) because of its large dividend yield, cheap valuation and diversified business.